


Day 147

by Josh_the_Bard



Series: A Year in Kirkwall [147]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age II
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2020-05-28
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:01:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24417070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Josh_the_Bard/pseuds/Josh_the_Bard
Series: A Year in Kirkwall [147]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1589257





	Day 147

Cullen had been hoping to spend the day continuing his investigation through Darktown. His conversation with the Carta had not been very productive. They were hesitant to speak to him at all, without Hawke he might never have found them in the first place. When he did manage to get them to answer some questions, they insisted that their poisoner did not take outside contracts. The one piece of useful information they had given him was that a group of apostates had acquired a qunari relic that they were but that it had been destroyed in a battle with the Carta. It seemed the dwarves and the mages were not friends, despite the near certainty that the Carta was selling them smuggled lyrium. Cullen was thinking about hiring outside help but who could he trust who would be able to move through Darktown.

The only one who sprang to mind was Varric Tethras who was a known associate of Anders. Anders was absolutely someone who bore investigation but his continued support from the Warden Commander of Ferelden and the Champion made any move against the Warden mage politically difficult. Despite the seal of approval from the Seekers, Meredith did not have unconditional support from the Chantry at large, despite the increase in magical attacks they were experiencing.

Case in point was Lady Fleischman, the reason he had had to pause his investigation. Normally he could have passed an incident like this to one of the more capable lutennants but as it involved a member of the Kirkwall nobility the Knight Captain was expected to take a personal interest. The woman claimed one of her servants was a bloodmage who had bewitched her and summoned a demon into her basement, though Cullen had his doubts.

Sir Moira had found a group of terrified servants that all claimed Lady Fleischman was secretly a mage and had been keeping the demon in her basement for weeks. Cullen could think of no sane reason why someone would do that. He knew demons promised power but the harrowing proved that most maged had the ability to resist the temptation. But then again, all those mages had undergone proper Circle training, whereas Lady Fleischman had apparently been hiding from the Circle, and by extension, proper training. The servants said that several elves had already died for her folly.

Cullen went into Lady Fleischman’s sitting room where two templars were holding her until Cullen decided what to do with her.

“You were keeping a demon in your home,” Cullen stated. The Lady’s eyes opened with panic and she tried to escape the grip of the templars. 

“No,” she cried out. “I told you I was bewitched by one of my wretched servants. You want them not me.” In her desperation she drew a small amount of magical energy through the Veil. Her captors nullified it with barely any effort. As Cullen expected from his knights.

“That was not a question,” Cullen said. “Were you just hiding your magic from the Chantry, we would bring you into the Circle. But the punishment for summoning demons is death.”

Lady Fleischman let out a wail of despair and desperation, drawing yet more magical energy to her. Again the templars at her side blocked it. Were they not there, she might have become possessed right there. With no power to draw on, the noblewoman slumped in defeat. The nobility could get away with much, far more than the common fold, something Cullen disliked about the way the order operated, but even for them, limits existed.

“You cannot have been operating alone all this time,” Cullen said. “You must have a lyrium supplier, access to research notes and other materials. If you agree to share these with me, I will ensure you are sent to Aonar instead of executed.”

At that her eyes lit up and she nodded enthusiastically. “The mage underground had been recruiting more aggressively lately. I of course would never have joined them but I can give you some of their meeting places. Also I traded books with one of the mages in your Circle.”

That got Cullen’s attention.

“Who?” he asked. Now that they were negotiating, or at least that Lady Fleischman felt like they were negotiating, she relaxed. Smiled even.

“And elf,” she said, “I don’t know his name but he had a mark on his face, like the casteless dwarves.”

Cullen nodded. “Huon.”


End file.
